Jenkins announced his candidacy Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn at 5555 Financial Plaza in Shreveport.

He represents council District G and is the fifth candidate to announce intention to compete for the seat currently held by term-limited Mayor Cedric Glover. The candidate field includes Victoria Provenza, Rep. Roy Burrell, Ollie Tyler and Rep. Patrick Williams.

Jenkins, an attorney by trade, initially intended to announce his candidacy earlier this year, but bowed out of the race in March after delinquent taxes and a heavy legal case load derailed his campaign.

A group of supporters formed the "We want Sam" political organization, not long after Jenkins announced he would not pursue the office, to encourage him to re-think his decision not to run.

And on Friday, Jenkins said it was constant encouragement from supporters that led him to pursue the seat and join the already crowded mayoral candidate field.

"The majority of citizens I have engaged are telling me that they feel like my experience in local government, by being in city hall for the past eight years would be an asset," Jenkins said. "They felt as though I could come into this office and move the city forward from day one."

Caddo Commissioner Ken Epperson believes that, too. He is one of Jenkins' prominent supporters and helped organize the mayoral announcement.

"He's experienced. Eight years as a commissioner and a city council person, he knows what's going on in Government Plaza at both levels," Epperson said. "The mayor's job at this point in time with the issues that we have on hand is not a place for a trainee."

Jenkins is already touting a platform to "Build a Better Shreveport," which includes:

Implementing a comprehensive economic development initiative that involves creating and retaining jobs as well as promoting education and workforce training.

Focusing on reclaiming the local neighborhoods to by making sure they are clean and safe

Improving cooperation between city government, other governmental entities and businesses to foster a shared vision, share resources and better serve Shreveport.

Jenkins said his campaign has been working on and off for several months. Campaign signs are already going up.

He believes he has raised between $25,000 to $30,000 to help him compete against other candidates. Jenkins had not checked his latest campaign finance figures at the time of the interview.

"What we're doing right now is what we've been doing all along," he said. "We're just engaging people. We're not going to try to buy the mayor's seat. We're not going to try to burn a whole lot of money to do that. We're going to engage people and try to earn their respect and their vote the old fashion way."